The British Army's Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment has been photographed trialling camouflaged horses during its annual summer camp at the Longmoor Training Area in Hampshire, as the military examines whether horses could be reintroduced for operational use. The Ministry of Defence confirmed soldiers are exploring mounted reconnaissance, movement over difficult terrain, concealment and equine welfare, drawing on the practices of allied nations that still deploy horses operationally. The move reflects lessons from recent conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East, where military planners have concluded that tanks and armoured vehicles can struggle in thick forests and boggy ground, making horses a potentially valuable alternative.

The idea was partly inspired by a horse-mounted volunteer unit within the Estonian Defence League, and the MoD noted that the United States maintains its own expeditionary mounted and pack-horse capability. Precedent exists for horses in modern combat: in 2001, a 12-man team of American Green Berets rode into Afghanistan on horseback alongside local forces fighting the Taliban, the first such US combat use since 1942, later dramatised in the 2018 film 12 Strong. The Household Cavalry, better known for ceremonial duties such as the King's Birthday Parade, has also added a mounted navigation exercise across the Barossa training area to its Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup competition.